The Number One Factor Predicting Childhood Cognitive Performance: Diet

How important are socioeconomic factors when it comes to your child’s future academic success? According to a recent report by Child Care Aware America, annual preschool education costs range from $4,500-$12,000 in the US, depending on the state.1 Although President Obama to improve quality and expand access to preschool for lower- and moderate-income families, Parents assume 60% of these costs.2

While preschool education may set the stage for future academic success, are there far less expensive and more effective measures? According to new research published by William Lassek, M.D. and Steven Gaulin, M.D., diet better predicts infants’ future cognitive performance than economics. Specifically, the omega-3 and omega-6 levels of their mothers’ breast milk.3So, where does prenatal and neonatal nutrition come into play?

By comparing the fatty acid profiles of breast milk from women from 28 countries with math, science, and reading ability test results from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), Lassek and Gaulin determined that increased omega-3 docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and decreased omega-6 linoleic acid levels most strongly predict higher test scores, with no improvements in predictive power when socioeconomic variables were considered. The Paleo Diet is low in omega-6 while featuring the richest dietary sources of DHA—cold-water, fatty fish, particularly salmon, sardines, mackerel, herring, and tuna.

Mothers who consume these fish while pregnant and breastfeeding have higher amounts of DHA in their milk. This was demonstrated in a previous study published by the same authors, among others, comparing the DHA breast milk levels of Tsimane women from Amazonian Bolivia with those of women from Cincinnati. The Tsimane women eat traditional diets consisting primarily of locally grown crops, wild game, and freshwater fish. The Cincinnati women, on the other hand, had typical US diets, including high amounts of trans fats and omega-6 fatty acids (abundant in industrial seed oils, including corn oil and soybean oil).

The Tsimane women’s milk was 400% higher in DHA, 260% lower in trans fats, and 84% lower in omega-6 linoleic acid.4 Lead author Melanie Martin said, “Despite living in economically impoverished conditions, Tsimane mothers produce breast milk that has more balanced and potentially beneficial composition as compared to milk from U.S. mothers.”5 High levels of omega-6 are just as disconcerting as low levels of omega-3 because increased omega-6 consistently predicts lower test scores, according to the Lassek and Gaulin study.

This is not surprising, considering that omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids both compete for the same rate-limiting enzymes. In other words, the ratio of dietary omega-6 to omega-3 is vitally important. Eating fatty fish several times per week is ideal, but if you’re not concurrently limiting your omega-6 consumption, especially by eliminating seed oils from your diet, you won’t be absorbing enough of that omega-3 from the fish. From an evolutionary perspective, the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio should be roughly 1:1.6 Modern Western diets, however, typically yield ratios ranging from 10:1 to 30:1.7

According to the latest PISA results, US students lag behind students from 29 other nations in math and 22 in science, respectively.8 Is this the result of consuming too little DHA and far too much omega-6? Of the 300-million-plus acres planted with food in the US, half are devoted to soy and corn. Another 50 million go to wheat, with only 14 million acres reserved for fruits and vegetables.9 While these numbers are sobering and perhaps disempowering, change starts with the individual.

So if motherhood is on the horizon, now is the time to start eating a healthy Paleo Diet. Of particular importance to your child’s future cognitive performance is the elimination of all industrial seed oils from your diet, particularly corn, soybean, canola, sunflower, safflower, and grapeseed oils. At the same time, be sure to consume DHA-rich fish from the cleanest sources possible several times per week. Education is important, but clearly so are prenatal and neonatal nutrition.

Christopher James Clark, B.B.A.

Christopher James Clark, B.B.A. is an award-winning writer, consultant, and chef with specialized knowledge in nutritional science and healing cuisine. He has a Business Administration degree from the University of Michigan and formerly worked as a revenue management analyst for a Fortune 100 company. For the past decade-plus, he has been designing menus, recipes, and food concepts for restaurants and spas, coaching private clients, teaching cooking workshops worldwide, and managing the kitchen for a renowned Greek yoga resort. Clark is the author of the critically acclaimed, award-winning book, .

8. Layton, L. (December 3, 2013). U.S. students lag around average on international science, math and reading test. The Washington Post. Retrieved September 24, 2014 from //www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/us-students-lag-around-average-on-international-science-math-and-reading-test/2013/12/02/2e510f26-5b92-11e3-a49b-90a0e156254b_story.html

Christopher James Clark, B.B.A. is an award-winning writer, consultant, and chef with specialized knowledge in nutritional science and healing cuisine. He has a Business Administration degree from the University of Michigan and formerly worked as a revenue management analyst for a Fortune 100 company. For the past decade-plus, he has been designing menus, recipes, and food concepts for restaurants and spas, coaching private clients, teaching cooking workshops worldwide, and managing the kitchen for a renowned Greek yoga resort. Clark is the author of the critically acclaimed, award-winning book, .

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“1” Comments

WOW… Great article and thanks for the references on the agricultural aspects. We are dumbing down our kids in many ways, but our nutritional blindness is truly criminal. The only way to oust Big Agribusiness is with our wallets. Boycott corn, wheat and soy. That is a good start.

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